1. Sherif’s social judgment theory (SJT) states that “most dramatic cases of attitude change, the most widespread, and enduring, are those involving changes in reference groups with differing values.” Paraphrase what Sherif means. Why do you believe this happens? Can you provide an example from personal experience?
2. Let’s say that you and I have very different opinions on water conservation—I say, “who cares? I’m entitled to water my lawn,” and you say, “making sure everyone has enough water is more important than green grass.” What would Sherif say you would need to do to persuade me to change my mind?
3. According to the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), the peripheral route is a mental shortcut. Why do we use it rather than thinking things out carefully? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the shortcut?
4. The minimal justification hypothesis of Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory may be one of the most counterintuitive ideas in the social sciences. Explain how the $1/$20 experiment demonstrates that behavior may cause attitudes.
5. Assuming Festinger was right, why is the avoidance of dissonance a basic human drive? In other words, how do we benefit from seeking to avoid dissonance?
6. Both cognitive dissonance theory and the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) are cognitive theories of persuasion and attitude/behavior change. Identify one point of similarity and one point of contrast between the two theories.
7. Angela, Brian, Chloe, and Daniel have just gotten together for their first group meeting. Their task is to create a presentation on a theory of their choice for their communication theory course. With the functional perspective in mind, identify three guidelines the group should follow.
8. Name a group you belong to now (or belonged to in the past): A group of friends, a work team, your family, etc. Describe the fantasy themes in the group. How might you organize these themes into fantasy types?
9. Symbolic convergence theory focuses on cohesion, whereas the functional perspective focuses on effective decisions. Compare and contrast these emphases. What kinds of groups would find the functional perspective most useful? What kinds of groups would find symbolic convergence theory most useful?
10. Discuss the culture of an organization or business that you know well. Pay particular attention to the organization’s metaphors, stories, and rituals.
11. Consider ethnography as a method. Why have cultural approach scholars so enthusiastically embraced the method? What disadvantages does the method possess? If ethnography were unavailable, what might be another approach to discovering organizational culture?
12. Walther developed the hyperpersonal perspective with reference to text-based media such as e-mail. To what extent do the four elements of the perspective also apply to a modern social networking sites such as Facebook, etc.? How about video chat, Zoom, or text messaging?
13. The critique section describes Turkle’s concerns about online communication, which contrasts with Walther’s generally upbeat take on communication technology. Write an imaginary dialogue between these two scholars. In this dialogue, probe areas of similarity and difference between their claims.
14. Define the five core principles of communication privacy management theory in your own words. Which principle is most important? Least important? Why did you choose these two?
